POTSDAM, N.Y.-After trailing 3-0 early, the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (6-16-2, 5-9-2 SUNYAC) rallied to tie the game before falling to Plattsburgh State (7-13-3, 4-8-2) 6-5 on Senior Night. Sophomore forward Thomas Terranova (Middletown, N.J./Syracuse Stars), senior assistant captain Bryce Ferrell(Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres), sophomore forward Robert Clerc (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Oswego State), junior forward Paul Michura (Chester, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) and sophomore forward Devin Panzeca (Lake Zurich, Ill./East Coast Wizards) each scored for the Bears.
The Cardinals jumped on the board just 34 seconds into the contest. Senior forward Joe Drabin (Rochester, N.Y./Wenatchee Wild) knocked home his own rebound to make it 1-0. Potsdam was able to respond with pressure, aided by a power play, but Plattsburgh escaped unscathed. Midway through the period, the Cardinals struck twice in a 2:30 span. Freshman forward Adam Tretowicz (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) tipped home a shot from the point at 11:07. At 13:37, freshman defenseman Ryan Hogg (Duncan, British Columbia/Islanders Hockey Club) picked up a loose puck, skated all around the zone and tucked it past Bears sophomore goaltender Michael Paglucca (North Reading, Mass./New Hampshire Avalanche) to make it 3-0. Potsdam outshot Plattsburgh 11-10 in the first.
The Bears continued to work and it paid off with two goals in 1:08 early in the second. Terranova finished a give-and-go from junior forward Joey Sollazzo(Ottawa, Ontario/Navan Grads) at 5:13 to get Potsdam on the board. Junior defenseman Joseph Richardson (Palm Beach, Fla./PAL Islanders) picked up the second assist. At 6:21, Ferrell tipped a shot from sophomore forward Jack Bloem (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) past Cardinals junior goalie Jimmy Poreda (Tonawanda, N.Y./Connecticut Rangers) to make it a one goal game. Paglucca started the play and earned the second assist. The Bears goaltender was sharp under pressure during the period, but Plattsburgh had the last say. With 1:10 left, Drabin buried his second of the night and the Cardinals led 4-2 after 40 minutes.
The Bears started the third period on the power play and capitalized. Clerc knocked home a loose puck at the right side of the net 1:13 into the final 20 minutes. Junior forward Brett Horn (Cary, N.C./Humboldt Broncos) and Richardson each assisted on the goal. Potsdam was called for tripping at 5:46, but that didn’t prevent the Bears from getting even. Just 44 seconds later, Michura picked up a turnover at the blue line and went the length of the ice to beat Poreda and tie the game. However, Tretowicz struck again at the 14:13 mark to put the Cardinals back up 5-4. With 58 seconds left, Cardinals senior forward Ryan Kuhn (Wheatfield, N.Y./Niagara University) scored an empty-netter on a shot from his own blue line. With the game seemingly sealed away, Panzeca buried a feed from Horn and freshman defenseman Connor Cruickshank (Brampton, Ontario/Brampton Admirals) with 13 seconds left to close the scoring at 6-5.
Paglucca finished with 27 saves and Poreda stopped 30 shots for the win.
The Bears were 1-for-4 on the power play and the Cardinals were 0-for-1.
After the game the Bears honored seniors Ferrell, captain Vincent Guimond (Sorel-Tracy, Quebec/Gloucester Rangers), Sean Winikates (Phoenix, Ariz./Philadelphia Jr. Flyers), Nate Zweig (Binghamton, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) and Tyler Young (Massena, N.Y./Kanata Lasers)
Potsdam is now finished with SUNYAC play and will wait out the final weekend to learn if they have locked up a postseason berth. They finish the regular season with a nonconference game at SUNY Canton on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
(Pictured above Potsdam Class of 2020)
